By LAWRENCE ULRICH
Published: April 16, 2009
The New York Times reviewed the new Camaro. Here are some excerpts where it is compared to the Challenger:
NEARLY five million Camaros, produced over 35 years, are bound to produce some stories. This one is mine:
The Camaro, a working-class hero of the 1967-2002 model years — a run that included forgettable cars as well — is back. Its arrival completes a blessed baby boomer trinity of so-called pony cars, after reintroductions of the retro Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger.
With the old pony-car wars suddenly revived, even people who love fast cars can reasonably ask why. Those who dial 911 at the sound of screeching tires are even more upset: how, they ask, can Detroit be turning out fluff when its survival is at stake? The answer is that sports cars and sexy coupes still have a role to play, no matter the price of gas or the blood on Detroit’s balance sheets.
The V-6 in the reasonably priced ($22,995) base model is the type you’d find in a $45,000 Infiniti, Mercedes or, well, a Cadillac: shared with models like the Caddy CTS, this 3.6-liter overhead-cam engine combines fuel-saving direct injection and a 6-speed automatic to produce 304 horsepower with a stellar highway economy rating of 29 m.p.g. That’s better highway mileage than you will get from a slew of less powerful V-6 models, including not just the Mustang and the Challenger but the Toyota Camry sedan and the Honda Accord coupe.
Where Ford and especially Dodge photocopied their old models and called it a day, the Camaro addresses the past more obliquely. The result is unmistakably a Camaro, yet it’s also a bold, 21st-century design that may age better than its more literal rivals. Befitting a car that scored the Bumblebee role in the “Transformers” movies, there’s some cartoonish adornment, including the nonfunctioning hood scoop on the V-8 model and fake brake vents along the side. But during my week of testing, even Audi and Porsche owners gushed over the Camaro’s looks — high praise for a Chevy.
Make no mistake, the V-6 whips the base 6-cylinder Mustang and Challenger in both power and sophistication. Yet it still doesn’t feel like a muscle-car motor. With little low-end torque, there’s no hold-on-tight sensation when you floor the gas. And while the engine will spin to 7,000 r.p.m., keeping the revs high is a strange way to drive a Camaro.
The SS lops nearly 1.5 seconds off the time it takes the 6-cylinder to reach 60 m.p.h., which the V-8 accomplishes in 4.7 seconds. That stoplight talent easily outshines the 315-horse $30,000 Ford Mustang GT and is neck-and-neck with the 425-horse Dodge Challenger SRT8.
If the Camaro feels a tad less fire-breathing than that $40,000 Challenger, it also costs about $8,000 less, making it the clear bang-for-the-buck winner.
Anyone wanting to read the entire article and view the photos, can view them here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/au.../19camaro.html